Maithil Brahmins are the Indo-Aryan

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

community originating from the

Mithila region Mithila (), also known as Tirhut, Tirabhukti and Mithilanchal, is a geographical and cultural region of the Indian subcontinent bounded by the Mahananda River in the east, the Ganges in the south, the Gandaki River in the west and by the foothil ...

and original inhabitants of Southern Nepal and bordering regions of India that comprises

Madhesh Province Madhesh Province () is a Provinces of Nepal, province of Nepal in the Terai region with an area of covering about 6.5% of the country's total area. It has a population of 6,126,288 as per the 2021 Nepal census, making it Nepal's most densely po ...

& some areas of

Koshi Province Koshi Province () is an autonomous Provinces of Nepal, province of Nepal adopted by the Constitution of Nepal on 20 September 2015. It covers an area of , about 17.5% of the country's total area. With the industrial city of Biratnagar as its cap ...

in Nepal and the

Darbhanga Darbhanga is the fifth largest city and municipal corporation in the state of Bihar in India, and is considered an important city in North Bihar. It serves as the headquarters of the Darbhanga district and the Darbhanga division. Darbhanga ...

Kosi KOSI (101.1 FM) is a commercial radio station in Denver, Colorado. KOSI is owned by Salt Lake City–based Bonneville International and airs an adult contemporary music format, switching to Christmas music for much of November and December. ...

Purnia Purnia (; also romanized and officially known as Purnea) is the fourth largest city of Bihar and is emerging as the largest economic hub in North Bihar. It serves as the administrative headquarters of both Purnia district and Purnia divisi ...

Munger Munger, formerly spelt as Monghyr, is a twin city and a Municipal Corporation situated in the Indian state of Bihar. It is the administrative headquarters of Munger district and Munger Division. Munger was one of the major cities in Eastern ...

Bhagalpur Bhagalpur, historically known as Champapuri, Champa Nagari, is a city in the Indian state of Bihar, situated on the southern bank of the Ganges river. It is the Bihar#Government and administration, third largest city of Bihar by population and ...

Santhal Pargana division Santhal Pargana division constitutes six district administration units known as the divisions of Jharkhand state in eastern India. Origin of name Santal Pargana derives its name from two words: " Santal", a major inhabited tribe in the region an ...

in India and are also found in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

and

Kathmandu Valley The Kathmandu Valley (), also known as the Nepal Valley or Nepa Valley (, Newar language, Nepal Bhasa: 𑐣𑐾𑐥𑐵𑑅 𑐐𑐵𑑅, नेपाः गाः), National Capital Area, is a bowl-shaped valley located in the Himalayas, Hima ...

. They are one of the five

Pancha-Gauda Pancha Gauda is one of the two major groupings of Brahmins in Hinduism, of which the other is Pancha-Dravida. In ''Rajatarangini'' According to Kalhana's ''Rajatarangini'' (c. 12th century CE), the Pancha Gauda group includes the following fi ...

Brahmin communities of Nepal and India. The main language spoken by Maithil Brahmins is Maithili, followed by Nepali and Hindi-Urdu language. Maharaja Lakshmeshwar Singh statue - Kolkata

Maharaja Lakshmeshwar Singh statue - Kolkata

History

Some of the dynastic families of the Mithila region, such as the Malla dynasty (Nepal), Karnat dynasty (Nepal), Oiniwar Dynasty (India) and Khandwal Dynasty (Raj Darbhanga India), were Maithil Brahmins and were noted for their patronage of Maithil culture. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Maithil Brahmins became politically significant in Nepal and around India. Durgananda Jha (Nepal),

Binodanand Jha Binodanand Jha (17 April 1900 – 1971), also known as Pandit Binodanand Jha was an Indian politician originally from the district of Deoghar, Bihar (Baidyanathdham Deoghar), now in Jharkhand. He was educated at the Central Calcutta College, ( ...

and

Lalit Narayan Mishra Lalit Narayan Mishra (2 February 1923 – 3 January 1975) was an Indian politician who served as Minister of Railways in the government of India from 1973 to 1975. His political career started when he was made parliamentary secretary to the ...

emerged as prominent political leaders of the community. Under the Chief Ministry of

Jagannath Mishra Jagannath Mishra (24 June 1937 – 19 August 2019) was an Indian politician who served as Chief Minister of Bihar and as Union Council of Ministers, Minister in the Union Cabinet. He was also Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha between 1988 - 1990 ...

many Maithil Brahmins assumed important political positions .

Divisions

According to the Vedic ''Samhita'', Maithil Brahmins originated from

Janakpur Janakpurdham or Janakpur (), is the capital city of Madhesh Province. This sub-metropolitan city is a central hub for the Maithili language, as well as for religious and cultural tourism in Nepal. The city was founded in the early 18th centur ...

(capital of Ancient Mithila Kingdom), spread far and wide towards India are divided into the Vajasaneyi (Yajurvedic) and the Chandogya(Samavedic) and each group is strictly

exogamous Exogamy is the social norm of mating or marrying outside one's social group. The group defines the scope and extent of exogamy, and the rules and enforcement mechanisms that ensure its continuity. One form of exogamy is dual exogamy, in which tw ...

. They are also further classified by four main categories, the Srotriyas (Soit), the Yogyas (Bhalmanush), the Painjas and the Jaiwars. They are all expected to be morganatic (anuloma) however these days this is no longer enforced strictly. They are also divided into various Mools or Clan's name. And every mool is further divided into upamool or sub clans.

Religious practices

They are mainly practitioners of

Shaktism Shaktism () is a major Hindu denomination in which the God in Hinduism, deity or metaphysics, metaphysical reality is considered metaphorically to be a woman. Shaktism involves a galaxy of goddesses, all regarded as different aspects, mani ...

in various forms, however there are also few

Vaishnavites Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole Para Brahman, supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, ''Mahavishnu''. It is one of the majo ...

and

Shaivites Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Para Brahman, supreme being. It is the Hinduism#Demographics, second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million H ...

Panjis

Panjis Panjis or Panji Prabandh are extensive genealogical records maintained among the Maithili Kayasthas and Maithili Brahmins of the Mithila region similar to the Hindu genealogy registers at Haridwar. History It is said that the Panji system wa ...

or Panji Prabandh are extensive

genealogical Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

records maintained among Maithil Brahmins similar to the

Hindu genealogy registers at Haridwar Genealogy registers of families, maintained by Brahmin Pandits, known locally as ''Pandas'', who work as professional genealogists, at Haridwar in Uttarakhand, India, have been a subject of study for many years.

and Nepal Panjikaran Patra. While marriage they obtain the “Aswajan”(Non-relative) certificate from the panjikars, this system was started by Harisinghdeva.

Notes

References

External links

* Pratyush Kumar, Homo Connubialis Brahmanicus: Marriage Relations Among Brahmins, Baden-Baden: Nomos (Ergon), Germany, 2025, ISBN 978-3-98740-189-3 (Print). * {{cite web, last=Brown Heinz, first=Carolyn, title=The Maithil Brahmins: an online ethnography, url=http://www.csuchico.edu/anth/mithila/, publisher=Department of Anthropology,

California State University, Chico California State University, Chico (Chico State) is a public university in Chico, California. It was founded in 1887 as one of about 180 "normal schools" founded by state governments in the 19th century to train teachers for the rapidly growing ...

, access-date=21 October 2010 Brahmin communities Maithil Brahmin